Trump’s drone strike escalation outpaced Obama across every theater.

Evidence

The racist dehumanization was extended beyond “combatants” or military age men the Obama administration saw fit to kill to include their families as well. In power, Trump dramatically expanded the theater of operations from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria to Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. In just his first two years in office, he launched more strikes in each of these countries than Obama had. He staged 238 strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan, more than Obama’s 186 over a similar period. He carried out 176 attacks in Yemen in just two years, dwarfing Obama’s total of 154 strikes in Yemen in eight years. The total civilian casualty rate of these attacks is not known, because the Trump administration placed restrictions on the reporting of these figures. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 531

Categorization

• XREF: Concrete data payoff for the MOC thread that both liberal and conservative presidencies operate the same killing machinery. — connects to: Trump escalated drone strikes beyond Obama’s totals across expanded theaters. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 519; The drone war escalated dramatically under Trump across new countries — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 519; US drone warfare began under Clinton and escalated through Obama to Trump. (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Trump’s drone strikes outpaced Obama’s totals in far less time #corroborates (0.95)